The mystery and wonder of modern-day Haiti come alive in this two-film set based on the work of writer-director Dany Laferriere with the two films How to Conquer America in One Night (96 mins) and On the Verge of a Fever (88 mins).

Newly arrived in Montréal, and determined to conquer North America by charming blonde-haired women, Gégé, a Haitian in his thirties, lands up at Fanfan's - his nostalgic uncle who has given up poetry for a good old taxicab and dreams of returning to his homeland. Over the course of one night filled with humor and friendship -- highlighted by a party attended by twins Andrée and Denise, two Quebecers with contrasting charms -- the two fun-loving guys take stock of their lives, memories and fantasies.

Against a backdrop of poverty, fear, and the brutal dictatorship of Haiti in 1971, ON THE VERGE OF A FEVER (Le Gout des Jeunes Filles) tells the story of Fanfan, a 15-year-old boy who wants to experience life for himself with his streetwise friend Gégé. Having lived a sheltered life with his overprotective mother, Fanfan experiences a bizarre, terrifying incident with Haiti’s secret police, the Tonton-Macoute. He decides to hide out at the house of his beautiful neighbors. There, he is trapped between his fear of getting caught and his desire to fulfill his deepest fantasy. This colorful drama is based on Haitian novelist Dany Lafèrriere’s Le Gout de Jeunes Filles.| Haiti/Quebec-Canada | 2004 | 88 mins. | comedy in French with English subtitles | John L'ecuyer, Dir. |

"One of tastiest coming-to-self films to radiate [from] the big screen in recent years” – S. James Wegg, FILM THREAT